Shubman Gill’s India will remember Virat Kohli’s aura, claims that England Test Vice-Captain Oli Pope

England was perhaps the only SENA that Virat Kohli didn’t conquer. He had an all-time tour in 2018, where he scored 593 runs. No other batter in the series, English or Indian, even amassed 350 runs. But after 15 matches in England, Kohli averaged just 33.65.

Virat Kohli’s aura

But that doesn’t mean that England didn’t fear or respect Kohli. Current Three Lions vice-captain Ollie Pope thinks that the former India skipper brought that ‘aura’ onto the field. Which is something that intimidated the opposition and boosted the confidence of his team.

Pope thinks that there are several young players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Reddy, and Sai Sudharsan who have all the talent to fill the void that has been created due to Kohli’s retirement. He thinks that Shubman Gill, India’s new Test captain, can also take over but Kohli’s batting and the energy he brought on the field will be tough to replicate.

“It’s a young team, but these Indian players, they have got so much depth and talent. So they’ve got a lot of young guys coming through – a lot of good players. Shubman Gill, their new captain, is a fantastic player. They will miss the aura of Virat Kohli standing at slips and chirping away. But they have got some good talent, so they will feel confident. But our players are ready for it,” Pope told talkSPORT cricket.